We have come into this exquisite world to experience ever and ever more deeply our divine courage, freedom, and light! - Hafiz of Shiraz

UPDATE please read important:

Exciting news: for the first time in NYC history, More Gardens is about o receive permission from city administration (Parks & FDNY) to approve a Chaharshanbeh Suri. We are asking people to donate at the below ticket link as we are going for this for the long haul!!! This is a free event for all and we are only asking for donations that make your heart happy :)https://secure.squarespace.com/commerce/donate?donatePageId=550a9450e4b0a5f4ac37a561

Description:Join us for a transformational fire jumping night, in a Lower East Side community garden celebrating the Festival of Fire to usher in the spring!

Amir Vahab Ensemble will be performingFire performance by Cinder Petrichor

Contact: Aresh at aresh@moregardens.org 917-518-9987

Food is a potluck, so please bring traditional food and refreshments to share. Please Email me aresh@moregardens.org or call 917-518-9987 if you are bringing any food or like to help.

Those wanting to jump over the fire:You must wear sturdy pants to easily jump in such as jeans.There will also be a waiver form to sign for all participants.

Below information is from last year and it is to be confirmed:Location: El Jardin del Paraiso Community garden, Entrance at 311 East 4th Street (btw Avenues C & D)Time: 6pm till 9pmThere will be fire, the music of Amir Vahab Ensemble (to be confirmed)

More Insights:

Châhârshanbe Suri (Persian: چهارشنبه ‌سوری) is a fire jumping festival celebrated by Iranian and Iranic peoples in Iran and across the world. The event takes place on the eve of the last Tuesday Night, March 17th (Wednesday Eve) to usher Nowruz New Year, celebrated on the Vernal Equinox.

Literally, the eve of 'Red Wednesday' or the eve of celebration, bonfires are lit in public places with the help of fire and light, enlightenment and happiness throughout the coming year are called in. People leap over the flames, shouting: Sorkhi-ye to az man; Zardi-ye man az to (Give me your beautiful red color; And take back my unhealthy pallor).

Honk NYC, in association with More Gardens! comes to the East Village Sunday, Oct. 15th. We are recruiting people of all ages to carry puppets, banners, & props in our Honk for More Gardens! Street parade to celebrate & raise awareness of community gardens. For more info on participation, see below.

Everyone is welcome to join the day's events starting at Children's Magical Garden at 129 Staton St. near Essex at 12 noon, where we'll have craft & prop making time accompanied by music from Damas de Ferro of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

-At 2pm our procession steps off on Stanton to Pitt St, and we march/dance up Ave C, ending at La Plaza Cultural Community Garden on Ave C & 9th Street at approximately 2:45pm. This is a permitted street parade. -At 3pm Liberation Drum Circles will lead a one-hour workshop, free to all, at La Plaza. -At 4:15pm Batala New York returns for a performance of Northern Brazilian samba reggae drum rhythms, at La Plaza. -At 5:00pm all welcome to join the procession from La Plaza to DROM on Ave A, for the HONK NYC Closing Party at DROM.

Follow this Facebook event for any updates.

Those interested in helping with making puppets and bannersthere will be workshops at Children's Magical Garden 129 Stanton Street on:This Saturday 1-6pmCall Aresh at 917-518-9987 or aresh@moregardens.org for more info

Our free environmental day summer camp in the Lower East Side: Going into its fourth summer, we provide an outdoor nature summer camp in July and August for twenty-five local youth. Campers learn organic gardening, identifying wild edible plants, creating environmental art, music, and theater games. They enjoy wholesome outdoor play, develop leadership skills, and are inspired to eat healthy food that they harvest and prepare themselves. This year a core feature we are creating is “Family Saturday” to bring in valued parents/guardians and siblings outside of the age range into this celebration of community. Family members of campers will be asked to participate each Saturday. Our program is free of charge in order to be accessible to all. We also accept sliding scale donations to those who are able, and fundraising assistance tomake sure that every child has the same opportunity to thrive in nature!

Our camp staff and support: Kate Temple-West and Aresh Javadi are seasoned environmental educators who have collectively directed summer programs and worked in schools for close to twenty years. The camp also brings in internationally known gardening and nutrition experts, artists, storytellers and musicians. We visit other communitygardens where campers learn from some of the most experienced, dedicated (and fun!) urban farmers and earth advocates. Our camp is gifted by our highly talented team of college and high school interns, volunteers, and parents.We have a child to adult ratio of 4:1, providing a lot of individual attention and care. We value each child’s creativity, individual learning style, and aim to make every activity so much fun that the learning happens effortlessly. We create a safe space with many observant eyes, while stepping back and allowing campers to discover many wonders on their own.Our camp values are: honor everyone’s wisdom, find the wonder and mystery, discover beauty in nature and art, develop cooperation and collaboration, and empower each other through supportive community.

Our 12th annual summer camp out of the South Bronx, gives access to the great outdoors to families providing free outdoor education and environmental arts in local community gardens and parks every year in the month of July. The urban youth and their families who join our free summer camp live in Mott Haven, Bronx that has one of the highest rates of asthma, diabetes and poverty in the country. Our campers understand the impact of pollution and environmental destruction firsthand. They are given the opportunity to enjoy nature, and they also want to get a chance to advocate for a healthier neighborhood and planet.

Celebrated by Iranian and Iranic peoples in Iran and across the world. The event takes place on the eve of the last Tuesday Night, March 15th (Wednesday Eve) to usher Nowruz New Year, celebrated on the Vernal Equinox.

Join us for a transformational fire jumping night, in a Lower East Side community garden ushering in the spring! Free.

Presented by Aresh Javadi of More Gardens! organization's with much thanks to El Jardin del Paraiso community garden, and fortune telling by Kate Temple-West.

More Insights:

Literally the eve of 'Red Wednesday' or the eve of celebration, bonfires are lit in public places with the help of fire and light, enlightenment and happiness throughout the coming year are called in. People leap over the flames, shouting: Sorkhi-ye to az man; Zardi-ye man az to (Give me your beautiful red color; And take back my unhealthy pallor).

Some practicalities: The fire is high in the beginning, and low near the end, so you get to choose how high you wanna jump!

Fal-Gûsh

Iranians believe that certain days are especially good for divination. During the Chaharshanbe Suri, divination, especially by listening to the conversations of the passers by and interpreting that which is heard (fālgūsh) as a sign is quite common. Kate Temple-West is a witch, which is close enough (and married to a Persian!)

All activities take place at Children’s Magical Garden 129 Stanton Street, corner of on Norfolk Street as well as on field trips to urban farms and other community gardens. Rainy days, come inside our cedar shed or do activities at Essex Market!

Our summer camp gives access to the great outdoors to families providing free outdoor education and environmental arts in local community gardens and parks every year in the month of July. The urban youth and their families who join our free summer camp live in Mott Haven, Bronx that has one of the highest rates of asthma, diabetes and poverty in the country. Our campers understand the impact of pollution and environmental destruction firsthand. They are given the opportunity to enjoy nature, and they also want to get a chance to advocate for a healthier neighborhood and planet.

The youth will gain hard skills learned from adaptive rock climbing, hiking, and camping. They will also gain valuable skills such as communication, discernment, critical thinking and foresight to help them thrive in the challenging environment of the South Bronx.

The tactile dance with nature through rock climbing creates a portal for personal and community accomplishment, responsibility, and self-acceptance. Our program helps the campers to take this shared sacred state in the outdoors back to NYC to empower our urban communities.

Celebrated by Iranian and Iranic peoples in Iran and across the world. The event takes place on the eve of the last Tuesday Night, March 15th (Wednesday Eve) to usher Nowruz New Year, celebrated on the Vernal Equinox.

Join us for a transformational fire jumping night, in a Lower East Side community garden ushering in the spring! Free.

Presented by Aresh Javadi of More Gardens! organization's with much thanks to El Jardin del Paraiso community garden, and fortune telling by Kate Temple-West.

More Insights:

Literally the eve of 'Red Wednesday' or the eve of celebration, bonfires are lit in public places with the help of fire and light, enlightenment and happiness throughout the coming year are called in. People leap over the flames, shouting: Sorkhi-ye to az man; Zardi-ye man az to (Give me your beautiful red color; And take back my unhealthy pallor).

Some practicalities: The fire is high in the beginning, and low near the end, so you get to choose how high you wanna jump!

Fal-Gûsh

Iranians believe that certain days are especially good for divination. During the Chaharshanbe Suri, divination, especially by listening to the conversations of the passers by and interpreting that which is heard (fālgūsh) as a sign is quite common. Kate Temple-West is a witch, which is close enough (and married to a Persian!)

HONK NYC! & MORE GARDENS!2015 East Village Cavalcade for More Gardens!SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2015, Noon to 6Hosted at LA PLAZA GARDEN, 9th & Cwith PARADES THROUGHOUT THE EAST VILLAGE

ON OCTOBER 17, MORE GARDENS!, a leading community organization for the protection, celebration and expansion of gardens throughout NYC, joins HONK NYC with local and global street bands to host an annual East Village/LES garden & neighborhood parade and creative community summit.

The creative blood and spirit of NYC runs deep through the East Village, the LES, and its lifeline of community gardens. Join us as we parade to these oases and stay with us for a celebration--a crescendo of revelry, incantation, action & 15th anniversary memory of Esperanza--at one of NYC's great garden spaces.

General lay of the day:

12:30 -1 PM MEET TO MARCH at La Plaza Community Garden.

Come costumed or as you are. Carry a flag or handmade puppet as you wish. The community is invited to join the bands on a 45-minute parade from La Plaza through the East Village visiting gardens enroute. The LES is poised to be zoned as a "GARDEN COMMUNITY DISTRICT." After years of sweat, love & vision, let's help bring this all the way HOME!

2:00 @ LA PLAZA. Join us for marvels of live full-bodied music, theater, arts & crafts and garden lore.Global and local featured acts:

Registration at Padres Plaza Community Garden from 3-5pm on Wednesday, June 24th

The first day of Camp to get ready for our trip is on Saturday, June 27th at 9 am - day ending at 4 pm

Sunday, June 28th - 9 am all family members going on the trip are invited to come and prepare for the next day's trip to the Catskill mountains.

Monday, June 29th - Sunday, July 5th - Board two vans and head to our Upstate climbing destination in the Minnewaska State Park & Mohonk Preserve:

The youth will gain hard skills learned from adaptive rock climbing, hiking, and camping. They will also gain valuable skills such as communication, discernment, critical thinking and foresight to help them thrive in the challenging environment of the South Bronx.

The tactile dance with nature through rock climbing creates a portal for personal and community accomplishment, responsibility, and self-acceptance. Our program helps the campers to take this shared sacred state in the outdoors back to NYC to empower our urban communities.

Our summer camp gives access to the great outdoors to families providing free outdoor education and environmental arts in local community gardens and parks every year in the month of July. The urban youth and their families who join our free summer camp live in Mott Haven, Bronx that has one of the highest rates of asthma, diabetes and poverty in the country. Our campers understand the impact of pollution and environmental destruction firsthand. They are given the opportunity to enjoy nature, and they also want to get a chance to advocate for a healthier neighborhood and planet. The campers and their family members are taken for a 7-day camping trip upstate in the Catskill Mountains. The camp offers free tuition, use of camp equipment, as well as free organic lunch and snacks, and all meals included for the camping trip. We provide campsites, tents, sleeping bags, canoes, and gear for all our campers, as well as teaching tools, identification books, gardening and art supplies, creating the best possible safe, supportive adventure and learning experience.

Campers, counselors, and parents teach and share what they learn with the wider community throughout the year at Padre Plaza community garden, sharing their love of the outdoors through plays and interactive presentations to hundreds of community members at the local farmer’s market.

Châhârshanbe Suri (Persian: چهارشنبه ‌سوری‎) is a fire jumping festival celebrated by Iranian and Iranic peoples in Iran and across the world. The event takes place on the eve of the last Tuesday Night, March 17th (Wednesday Eve) to usher Nowruz New Year, celebrated on the Vernal Equinox.

Join us for a transformational fire jumping night, in a Lower East Side community garden celebrating the Festival of Fire to usher in the spring! Free.

There will be music, FalGush/fortune telling, and traditional food. Please bring fresh food and refreshment to share, and more ...

Presented by Aresh Javadi of More Gardens! organization's with much thanks to El Jardin del Paraiso community garden, and fortune telling by Kate Temple-West.

More Insights:

Literally the eve of 'Red Wednesday' or the eve of celebration, bonfires are lit in public places with the help of fire and light, enlightenment and happiness throughout the coming year are called in. People leap over the flames, shouting: Sorkhi-ye to az man; Zardi-ye man az to (Give me your beautiful red color; And take back my unhealthy pallor).

Some practicalities: The fire is high in the beginning, and low near the end, so you get to choose how high you wanna jump!

Astrology

Much of the symbolism of this act links to astrological connotations associated with sign of Pisces or Esfand, or the 12th House related to the subconscious mind, hidden resources, hidden problems, social responsibility. The human has to face his ultimate fears and does so by jumping over the fire. That cleansing act is necessary before the advent of the Spring at the Vernal Equinox. ( is chosen because of its ancient association with being the fourth day of Mercury or Kherad, and Mercury being the messenger of Gods.

Fal-Gûsh

Iranians believe that certain days are especially good for divination. During the Chaharshanbe Suri, divination, especially by listening to the conversations of the passers by and interpreting that which is heard (fālgūsh) as a sign is quite common. Kate Temple-West is a witch, which is close enough (and married to a Persian!)

Join the Perma-Blitz as More Gardens! are Pushing Through the Pavement: A Permaculture Action Tour. We will have several hands on projects, skillshares, performance pieces and a pot-luck lunch to join and participate in. So come get your hands dirty, feed your mind, and break bread with community as we mobilize to create abundance in our city.In addition to all the magic listed above, we will be painting banners and at 2pm, we will mobilize and have a subway processional from Smiling Hogshead Ranch to Coney Islands Boardwalk Community Garden at West 22nd Between Surfside Ave and Coney Island's Seaside Boardwalk map. Our rally is to highlight the return of this bulldozed community garden to its original location and call for "preservation and self-governance" of the entire community gardening culture here in NYC.So join us early to plant fruit trees, build a hugelkuture and paint some banners. Bring a dish for the potluck, we eat at 1pm. Then enjoy more conversations and conviviality on the subway with tons of friends as we ride to meet up for an action in the afternoon. It will be a full day of fun and activism as we fertilize and pollinate our grassroots movement. One Love!

This Saturday, October 18, More Gardens & HONKNYC is presenting the East Village Cavalcade for Community Gardens from 2-6pm.

More Gardens! and Honk NYC are collaborating on an exciting community garden parade/s. Weaving through the Lower East Side and East Village community gardens.

HONK is an international activist brass band extravaganza and for the third collaborative year with More Gardens! they are marching through to the Lower East Side to highlight preservation and self-governance of community gardens worldwide.

Three brass bands will march from three different community gardens en route to Tompkins Square.Cavalcade # 1 will begin at Oasis community garden (map 370 E 8th Street) be there by 2:00 pm; Cavalcade #2 will start at El Jardin del Paraiso (map 704 E 5th Street) be there by 3:30pm and

All greening groups and neighborhood organizations are invited to participate and table at Tompkins Square. Please Call Aresh at 917-518-9987 to confirm or just bring your table. This is a continuation of the Climate Change March, support Mother Earth and celebrate our community gardens! United we Grow!